The notes will be issued by APA’s wholly-owned borrowing entity APT Pipelines and will be guaranteed by Australian Pipeline in its capacity as trustee and responsible entity of Australian Pipeline Trust and APT Investment Trust and by certain subsidiaries of the guarantors.
The proceeds will be used with other available funds and facilities to complete the purchase of the 340 km, 1,050 mm Queensland Curtis LNG (QCLNG) Project pipeline acquisition, as well as general corporate purposes.
The notes will be issued in two tranches, including approximately $A1.4 billion of ten-year notes to be issued at a fixed coupon of 4.2 per cent, paid semi-annually, and approximately $A386 million of 20-year notes to be issued at a fixed coupon of 5 per cent, paid semi-annually.
The senior notes issuance will bring to a successful conclusion the financing initiatives undertaken in respect of the funding of the QCLNG pipeline acquisition.
As a result, APA will not be drawing down on the bridge facility entered into in advance of the acquisition.
The QCLNG pipeline is a key component in BG Group’s QCLNG Project, with a CSG-to-LNG production and export facility on Curtis Island.
BG holds a 93.75 per cent stake across the two-train development, with Chinese state oil and gas producer CNOOC holding a 10 per cent interest in the first train and Japan’s Tokyo Gas holding a 2.5 per cent interest in the second train.